Commitment
by systemman
Summary: Complete - Hinata begins to wonder if she is the right person for Naruto. Time Frame: After Relationships
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto belong to Kishimoto Masashi. This story is written without permission, for fan purposes only. Do not reproduce without permission.

Summary: Hinata begins to wonder if she is the right person for Naruto

Chapter One - The Beginning

The sun rose slowly over the eastern side of the mountain, its rays barely cresting the top signaling a new autumn day. As the sun raised higher the mountain's shadow pulled back revealing The Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure no Sato. The village had a large tower which dominated the center and it in turn was surrounded by smaller buildings which radiated outward in a circle. As the circle spread further out the smaller buildings seemed to be surrounded by small homes and then larger homes. These homes, surrounded by land in gated areas, were the clan estates. If one were to look further pass the estates they would see the 30 foot wall that encircled the village and then merge with the mountain at each end. This wall had three openings appropriately called The North, The South and The West Gates. Looking even further one would see a giant forest spanning hundreds of square miles with very few roads passing through it and thus giving the village it name.

As the morning light reached the Hyuuga Clan estates it filled the room of one Hyuuga Hinata, kunoichi of Konoha and possible clan heiress. Though a lot of people react to the new morning sun with groans and resignation to the day, Hinata smiled brightly as light filled her eyes. Hinata was happy not because she was an avid early riser but because, after having her eyes bandaged for a month, she has cherished every day she has been able to see clearly. A few small blood vessels had ruptured in her eyes during her battle with the Rock Nin five months ago and though the damage would have been minimal to anyone else, the Hyuuga Clan depended greatly on their eyesight for their survival. After being released by Tsunade into the care of the Hyuuga physicians, Hinata had gone through private therapy using special eye drops to ensure the health of her Byakugan two weeks longer than Tsunade had predicted. After the bandages were removed she had to wear special sunglasses while activating her Byakugan for a few minutes at a time. Slowly the time spans were increased and as her eye strength improved she was allowed to remove the glasses and resume her normal training.

Even though Hinata was glad she didn't lose the ability to use her family's doujutsu what she really missed was the colors of the flowers in the family garden. The various hues of blues, purples, whites and yellows floating above a sea of green leaves was always something she loved to see but hadn't truly appreciated until she couldn't see them again. She also missed looking into the sky with white clouds slowly moving across the deep blue background. But the blue of the sky was nothing compared to the shade of blue in the eyes of her boyfriend, Uzumaki Naruto.

"Her boyfriend" she thought, oh how she loved the sound of those words used in the same sentence with the word 'Naruto-kun'.

She hadn't seen him the first month after he officially declared his love for her because of her bandages. She had only been able to be in his company a few times when Neji would take her for walks outside the estate walls. Once the bandages were removed she was placed on limited duty as a ninja for the next month which gave her more time to hang around the village and as a result be with Naruto.

The first week Hinata was out of her bandages found Naruto quite nervous. He was about to go on his first date with Hinata and he didn't know what to do. Oh sure, he had asked Sakura to go on dates numerous times but in truth he didn't know what to do on a date. He wondered who he could ask for advice. He wasn't going to ask his male friends because he knew what they would say. Kiba would just make jokes about how the 'brave and powerful Uzumaki Naruto' was afraid of quiet shy Hinata. Shino would just talk about bugs and their scent glands or something. Shikamaru would say that dating and girls were just too much trouble. Chouji may have some good advice since he and Ino were a couple but he wasn't in town at the moment.

Naruto was walking about town trying to figure out what to do. His popularity in the village had grown since Pein's attack and the invasion by Rock so now the scornful stares were being replaced by warm smiles. There were a few girls trying to catch his attention but he was too deep in thought to notice. He meandered aimlessly through the village until he heard a bell ring and found himself in front of the Ninja Academy. Looking at the school and hearing the sound of the children playing brought back memories of his times at the academy.

He remembered how excited he was when he had first entered the academy as a child and how he knew that once everyone saw how amazing he was he would be widely accepted. That dream was quickly dashed when he found out that no one cared whether he did his work or not. When he would put up his hand to ask or answer a question during class the teachers would just ignore him. When he would stay after class to ask for help the teachers would usually just stare at him like he was crazy and then walk away. The only way he could get a teacher to even say his name was when he acted up so that was what he did. There was only one teacher who treated him as a person and that was Umino Iruka.

At first Iruka didn't like Naruto because he knew what was inside him and Naruto's reputation for being a troublemaker. However as Iruka watched Naruto he realized that all of his antics were just cries for help and attention. In the beginning Naruto thought that Iruka was just like all the other teachers but over time Naruto started to notice Iruka actually paying attention to what he said. Naruto was still leery of Iruka's motives until Iruka almost died saving Naruto's life from Mizuki, another teacher at the academy.

Naruto thought "Iruka-sensei always has good advice and he won't laugh at me. Maybe he knows what to do on a date."

The noise of the children told Naruto that they had been let out for recess so he entered the school's front door and went directly to Iruka's classroom. As expected he found Iruka-sensei at his desk correcting papers so Naruto rapped on the door jamb to get the teacher's attention.

Looking up, Iruka smiled and said "Hey, Naruto, what brings you here?"

"Hi Iruka-sensei, I was just walking by and I was wondering, if you weren't busy, that maybe you could help me with a problem I got?"

Iruka placed his pen down and sat back in his chair while saying "Sure Naruto, anything for my favorite student."

Naruto smiled at the compliment and walked forward to sit on the front corner of Iruka's desk so that he wouldn't have to look directly into Iruka's face if he felt embarrassed. Iruka noticed the nervousness in Naruto's manner and decided to start the conversation saying "Now what is it I can help you with, Naruto?"

Naruto chuckled nervously, started scratching the back of his head with his right hand and then said "Well, you know that I have been hanging out with Hinata a lot lately, right?"

Iruka looked at Naruto and replied "Yes, I know."

"Well, I asked her last month to be my girlfriend and she said 'yes'" Naruto said.

Iruka broke into a big smile and said "Well, it's about time. I was beginning to think that you would never realize how much she liked you."

Naruto replied "Yeah, yeah, everybody seemed to know about it but me."

Iruka chuckled and said "So why do you need my help?"

Naruto took a deep breathe and said "You see, we haven't been able to get together since she was recovering at the Hyuuga estates."

Iruka nodded while listening. He had heard how Hinata had damaged her eyes protecting Naruto and Gaara while they were literally holding Konoha together during the attack by the Rock Nins.

"Well this is the first time we had a chance to get together and I wanted to know; what do you do on a date?" Naruto asked.

Iruka was confused so he said "Uh, Naruto, you and Hinata have been dating for a whole year so what are you talking about?"

Naruto replied "No we haven't. We have just been hanging out."

Then Iruka asked "Did you just meet her on the street while you were with your other friends or were the two of you alone?"

Naruto answered "Sometimes we were with our friends but mostly we were alone."

Iruka said "Uh huh. Naruto, when is Hinata's birthday?"

Now Naruto was confused so he said "What does that have to do with anything?"

Iruka answered "Please, Naruto, just answer the question."

Still confused Naruto replied "December 27."

Next Iruka asked "What is her favorite food?"

Unsure of where this was going Naruto answered "Cinnamon rolls and soft bean jam."

"And what foods doesn't she like?" Iruka continued.

Naruto answered "She doesn't like shellfish especially crab and prawns."

Then Iruka asked "Do you know what her hopes and dreams are?"

Again Naruto answered "Yeah, to be acknowledge by her Clan and to get that stupid family of hers back together."

Exasperated Naruto asked "Iruka-sensei, what does any of this have to do with dating?"

Iruka smiled and said "Just answer one more question: Did you know any of this stuff before you started hanging out with Hinata?"

Naruto thought for a while and then said "No, not really."

"Naruto, that is all dating is all about" Iruka said.

Seeing the confusion in Naruto's eyes Iruka continued "Naruto, dating is about learning everything about the other person to see if you like them or not. People go to restaurant and movies just to be relaxed but they are really just trying to find out if the person they are with likes the same things they do. And even if they don't like everything their date does, are the differences great enough to start dating someone else."

Naruto thought about this awhile and then said "But what about Sakura, I know her birthday is March 28, her favorite food is green plum pickles and she hates spicy food but we haven't been on a date."

Iruka replied "How did you get this information, did she tell you herself or did you find out by accident?"

"Well, I found out about the food while we were on Team 7. I found out about her birthday when we were in the Academy. I overheard Sakura and Ino talking about Sakura's upcoming birthday party and I went up to asked if I was invited. Both of them just looked at me, started laughing and then walked away" Naruto replied.

Iruka felt bad that he had caused Naruto to remember such a hurtful time in his life and said "Sorry, Naruto, I didn't know."

Naruto just grinned and waved it off saying "Don't worry about it, it was along time ago and beside Sakura asked me personally to her last two birthday parties, so all is forgiven."

"Well the information you have about Hinata was information she willingly gave you so that you could know her better" Iruka continued.

Naruto thought about this awhile and then Iruka said "Anyway the point I was trying to make is that there is no reason to be nervous, just keep doing what you have been doing and you'll do fine."

Naruto grinned and said "Thanks, Iruka-sensei, I knew you would have the answer. If there is anything I can do for you, just ask."

Iruka replied "Well, if you don't mind, could you stay and have a talk with the kids? It's not often we get to have a famous shinobi visit the school."

Naruto liked the phrase "famous shinobi" and feeling full of himself, he answered "Sure, I can spare a little time to talk about my adventures and show my amazing skill."

"Good, then follow me" Iruka said while he rose from his desk and headed out the room with Naruto following close behind.

When they were outside in the Academy's training ground Iruka yelled "All right, everyone listen up."

All the kids stopped what they were doing and headed towards Iruka when they saw who was standing next to him. "I don't know if you recognized his face but today we have a visitor who has saved this village numerous times. I would like you all to meet Uzumaki Naruto" Iruka said.

The small crowd of children clapped their hands while a few 'ooh's and 'wow's permeated the noise. Naruto grinned and bowed at the children and then raised his hands to silence the crowd.

However before he could speak Iruka interrupted and said "Would you believe he graduated dead last in his class."

Naruto's face dropped when he heard that and turned toward Iruka and said "Hey Iruka-sensei, that's not fair."

Iruka ignored Naruto and continued "However through hard work and determination he has now become one the best shinobis in Konoha and one that I am proud to call my student."

Naruto smiled and said "Thanks, Iruka-sensei" and then turned towards the kids and said "Iruka-sensei is right. Just because you are having a hard time with your lessons you shouldn't give up. If you try your best and don't quit then you too can be a proud shinobi of Konoha. Now who has questions?"

All the children raised their hands and Naruto took his time to answer each and every one of them, making sure no one was ignored. At the end of the question and answer period he showed them a few ninjutsus, made a couple of clones and finished by creating a rasengan. Then Iruka called the children together and told them it was time to return to class.

When the children began groaning and complaining Naruto said "Hey, hey, listen to Iruka-sensei. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be the shinobi I am today."

One kid said "I thought he said you had the lowest score in your class? It doesn't sound like he helped you very much."

"That's true but that was because I wasn't listening during class" Naruto replied.

"When I went into the field, I ran into situations where I would say 'Hey, Iruka-sensei said something like this would happen' and then I knew what to do" he continued.

"You never know what kind of information you will need to complete a mission until it's too late to ask for help" he finished.

The kids looked like they were thinking about what Naruto had said and then little by little they started entering the building while Iruka thanked Naruto and followed his class inside.

Naruto's and Hinata's first official date was rather simple. Naruto took Hinata to her favorite restaurant and afterwards they went for a walk through town. At the end of the date Naruto walked her home where they stopped a hundred yards from the main gate, out of normal eyesight of the gate guards. Hinata had hoped that Naruto would kiss her but he just asked her if she was free tomorrow night.

When Hinata answered "Yes Naruto-kun, I'm not doing anything special", Naruto replied "Great, I'll come by at six" and just left.

Hinata sighed and thought "Well, it is still early in the relationship, maybe tomorrow night."

The next night Naruto came by and took Hinata to a movie, a light snack at Ichiraku, a walk afterwards. Again when he dropped Hinata off at the Hyuuga estates he just said goodnight and left. This pattern repeated itself for the next two weeks.

Finally one night as Naruto said his goodbyes Hinata softly said "Naruto-kun, wait."

Naruto turned around and seeing Hinata looking down and playing with her fingers he asked "Hinata, what wrong? I haven't seen you do that thing with your fingers in a long time."

Realizing what she was doing Hinata quickly put her hands behind her back and thought "Drat!" and then, looking up at Naruto, quietly said "Do you like me, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto was taken aback by the question and replied "Like you? Of course I like you. You're the best girlfriend in the world!"

Hinata looked deeply in his eyes for any sign of falsehood and when she couldn't see anything quietly asked "Then why haven't you kissed me again? Am I that bad at kissing?"

Shaken by the question Naruto quickly answered "No, no, Hinata, your kisses are really nice actually and your lips are so soft."

Hinata blushed a little at the compliment and then said "Then why haven't you kiss me goodnight?"

Naruto placed his right hand behind his head in embarrassment and replied "Because I thought you would hit me if I did."

This time it was Hinata turn to be shocked and she asked "Why would you think I would hit you, Naruto-kun?"

"Well," Naruto answered "whenever I tried to kiss any other girl I would always get hit by them."

Hinata's eyes widen and she said "You have been trying to kiss other girls?"

Realizing what Hinata was thinking Naruto put up his hands in a placating motion and quickly answered "No, Hinata, that's not what I meant. I meant a long time ago when I was little. Every time I tried to be friendly and tried to kiss a girl she would hit me."

Hinata was saddened by the way Naruto had been treated as a child and said "Were they your girlfriend at the time?"

Naruto replied "No, as a matter of fact you are my first girlfriend."

Not wanting Naruto to feel too bad she replied "Well that's why. Only boyfriends and girlfriends are allowed to kiss each other so you don't have to worry about me hitting you. I didn't hit you the last time you kissed me, did I?"

"So you're saying that I can kiss you now?" Naruto asked unsurely.

"Yes, Naruto-kun, you may kiss me anytime you want" Hinata softly said as a full blush crept across her face.

Keeping his hands behind his back Naruto leaned closer to Hinata and kissed her lightly on the lips. After a few seconds he pulled back and said quietly "Soft" and then realizing what he said he added "Thanks Hinata and goodnight", then sped off into the night.

Hinata waved goodnight and feeling as if it were a dream she turned and walked towards the main gate. As she approached the gates both guards acknowledge her by saying "Good night, Hinata-sama".

Hinata gave a polite bow to each guard and said "Thank you" then entered and went straight to her room.

The gate guards had seen everything that had transpired between Hinata and Naruto with their Byakugan as it was their job to check out anyone nearing the Clan estates. However neither one saw any reason to report this to any Main Family member as most of the Branch Family liked Hinata and didn't want to see her get into trouble.

Naruto had a mission for the next couple of days while Hinata was restricted to Konoha with light clerical duties until she was placed back on full status. For the rest of the week Naruto would give Hinata a kiss whenever they were alone but each kiss was done the same way with Naruto keeping his hands behind his back and kissing Hinata lightly on the lips. One day when Naruto was taking Hinata home after another date he leaned in to kiss her and she said "Naruto-kun, you can hold me when you kiss me, I won't break."

Placing his hand behind his head again Naruto said "Eh, sorry about that Hinata" and then placing one hand on each of Hinata's arms below her shoulders he pulled her close and kissed her putting more pressure in his kiss.

Pulling away he said "Well, goodnight Hinata" turned and left. Hinata smiled and thought "Not exactly what I had in mind but it's a start."

This technique went on for a few days when Hinata said "Naruto-kun, when you hold me to kiss me please hold me like you are giving me a hug."

Naruto replied "Oh, sure Hinata" and grabbed her in a tight embrace and kissed her.

The hug wasn't a bear hug but it came pretty close as far as Hinata was concerned. After Naruto had left Hinata wondered "How am I going to teach him the right way to do it?"

As she walked into the manor an idea came to her and smiling she went straight to her room knowing that the next date would be different.

Their next opportunity to get together came a few days later and when Naruto asked what she wanted to do Hinata immediately replied "There's a new movie at the theater I want to see, Naruto-kun, let's go tonight".

Naruto groaned because he had heard about that movie, it was what his male friends called a 'chick flick' because it dealt with romance and showing one's feelings. Not wanting to say 'no' directly Naruto made a counter offer "Hey Hinata, that movie will be around for awhile. I…uh…heard that there is a traveling troupe of entertainer just passing through and they will only be here for one night. Let's go see them instead."

Hinata didn't need her Hyuuga training to tell Naruto was trying to avoid seeing the movie so she said "Naruto-kun, the last two movies we saw were your choice and now it's my turn."

Naruto grinned hesitantly and replied "I know and the next movie we see will be your choice but this troupe is supposed to be real good and I would hate to miss seeing them."

At this point Hinata decided to try a technique that she had heard was very successful from the other girls who had boyfriends. Hinata unleashed what would become her secret weapon, the puppy dog eyes, and said "Please Naruto-kun?"

Naruto couldn't believe it! Looking into her eyes it seemed as if they had gotten bigger and his resolve had gotten smaller. At that moment if she had asked him to give up ramen he might have done so, well he would have seriously considered it anyway. "Oh all right, we'll go to the movie" Naruto said.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun" Hinata said then she kissed him lightly on the cheek and taking his hand they started walking towards the theater district.

Hinata had two reasons for seeing this movie; the first reason was that it was a romantic drama about two people who accidentally meet and fall in love. However the love is complicated because both lovers are engaged to other people. The second reason was that she hoped Naruto would pick up some ideas on how to romantically kiss and hold a woman. When they arrived at the theatre Naruto paid for the tickets and followed Hinata inside to their seat. While walking down the aisle Naruto noticed that the women out-numbered the men by ten to one.

"Gee, I wonder why?" he thought sarcastically.

However when Naruto sat down and Hinata snuggled up close so that he could put his arm around her shoulder he thought "This isn't so bad. Besides Hinata doesn't asked me for much so if watching this movie makes her happy then I should be willing to sit through it."

The movie was exactly as Hinata heard it would be; a gripping tale of love and anguish and the love scenes were as romantic as ever. When one particularly tender scene was happening Hinata decided to look at Naruto to see how he would react. Not wanting to use her Byakugan in case she might spy on any couples in a passionate embrace she slowly turned her head in Naruto's direction. What she saw disappointed her as Naruto had his head tilted upward in the seat's head rest and he was fast asleep. Sighing ruefully Hinata returned to watching the movie a little sad that her plan had not worked. After the movie was over she gently shook Naruto who woke with a start saying "I'm awake! I'm awake!"

Sighing once again Hinata rose from her seat saying "Come on, Naruto-kun, the movie is over. Let's go."

After a quick snack at Ichiraku, Naruto took her home with Hinata anticipating receiving another clumsy kiss 'goodnight'. It wasn't that Hinata didn't like kissing Naruto; oh no, his kisses always made her lightheaded. It was just the foreplay leading up to the kisses could have been gentler. When they arrived at the spot where they usually kissed she expected Naruto to pull her towards him but instead he moved closer to her. Then he use his right hand to move a lock of Hinata's hair behind her left ear and slowly but gently drew the palm of his hand across her left cheek letting her nuzzle against it. Next he drew his right hand under her chin, put his left arm around her back resting his hand at the small of her back and tilted her head upward while tilting his head downward letting his lips lightly touch hers. He let his lips lightly capture hers and pull away, and then he repeated this movement while gently embracing her and capturing her lips again for the final time.

This kiss lasted awhile and when they separated he said "Goodnight Hinata".

Hinata was still in a daze when Naruto had spoken so he said again "Good Night, Hinata".

Hinata regained her senses and answered "Huh…what…Oh! Goodnight, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled, turned and walked away while Hinata lightly touched her lips softly saying "He was paying attention to the movie".

Hinata turned and entered the main gate smiling as she headed to her room not even acknowledging the greeting from the guards.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - Doubt

Even with the kissing problem resolved the beginning of their relationship was far from easy going, at least as far as Hinata's was concerned. Hinata had noticed a change in the way people looked at Naruto, specifically the female population. It seems that there were a number of girls watching Naruto now. Since the attack by Pein Hinata had seen a few of the young girls glancing at Naruto as he walked down the street but after the attack by the Rock ninjas there were a lot more and some of the lookers were young adult women. Hinata began to feel a little uncomfortable as she started to think that they might be interested in her Naruto-kun. Even though she had been too shy to take advantage of it, Hinata basically had no competition for Naruto's affections. Obviously there was Sakura but she only had eyes for Sasuke so Hinata never felt fully threatened by the idea of Sakura changing her mind. However now that Naruto-kun was hers, the threat of competition seemed to be everywhere. Hinata's only consolation was that Naruto hadn't noticed a thing. Hinata's anxiety came to a peak a few weeks after their 'movie' date during a mission with Kiba and Akamaru to track down a group of bandits.

The Land of Waves had been plagued by a gang of bandits attacking caravans as they brought goods to and from the country by way of the only access by land; The Great Naruto Bridge. The Land of Waves had its own police force to handle such problems but this particular gang had been using the surrounding forest as their hideout and they were very adept at eluding the local law enforcement. In frustration officials from the Land of Waves petition Konoha to send some ninja to handle the problem and figuring that the situation called for strong trackers Tsunade sent Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, of course. As luck would have it Akamaru's nose picked up a number of different scents coming from the forest long before Hinata and Kiba neared the bridge leading to the Land of Wave. After deciding to investigate, they came upon a group of ten men hanging out in a clearing that matched the description of their intended targets. After a few Gentle Fist attacks and Four Legs Jutsu attacks, Hinata and Kiba had captured the gang with Akamaru keeping an eye out for stragglers.

While directing the group of bound captives toward the Land of Wave from the rear, Kiba commented "Tsk, what a waste of time. The local police force must be pretty pathetic if they couldn't catch these guys. I mean I didn't even break a sweat."

While keeping her eyes and ears alert for any attack Hinata replied "Now Kiba-kun, that's not nice. I'm sure that the local police would not have needed us if they had been able to locate the gang. They just didn't have anyone who could track as well as you."

Then she quickly added "Or Akamaru" before the dog took any offense to her previous statement.

Enjoying the compliment Kiba stood straighter and said "Well, that's true. With a ninja as awesome as me who… could… I don't believe it! You have got to be kidding me! Tell me that that's just a coincidence!"

Hinata stopped to look at Kiba and noticing where he was looking turned in the direction of his eyes and spotted the bridge leading to the Land of Waves. However Kiba was not looking at the whole bridge, just one area in particular. Kiba's eyes were drawn to the sign proclaiming the name of the bridge and as Hinata realized what he was staring at she slowly smiled. Naruto had told her the story about his first A-rank mission to the Land of Waves and how the bridge had acquired its name but this was the first time she had seen it herself. As Kiba turned to Hinata with a questioning look she just smiled, shrugged her shoulders and began herding the prisoners across the bridge.

As they entered the first town which served as the main port to the Land of Waves, Hinata approached a local to find out where the Police Building was located. When she returned to Kiba she said "The man said it was just down the street, on the right side."

Though Kiba was listening he was also checking out the local residents, especially the women. Kiba replied "You know, Hinata, it might not be so bad hanging around this town for a few hours."

As Hinata watched exactly where Kiba was looking she smiled, especially after she noticed one particular girl looking their way. This young girl seemed to be excited and she suddenly ran towards them clutching something in her hands. Both Kiba and Akamaru picked up the scent of excitement coming from the girl so Akamaru moved into a position to keep an eye on the prisoners while Kiba readied himself for the first part in his routine to acquire a temporary girlfriend.

When the girl neared Hinata and Kiba she asked "Are you Konoha ninjas?"

Smiling Kiba answered "Yes we are."

Then the girl asked in quick succession "Is Uzumaki Naruto-san with you? Of course he is, I mean, who else could have captured these bandits singlehandedly. Where is he? I must talk to him."

As the young girl looked around frantically, Kiba's and Hinata's faces fell at the girl's ramblings but Hinata's face showed the most surprise.

Then Hinata asked "Do you know Nar…Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Of course I do! Well I haven't actually talked to him. I saw him a couple of times when he came through here about two weeks ago visiting the Tazuna-san and his grandson Inari. Do you know he singlehandedly saved this town from an evil man named Gato when he was only twelve? That's why the bridge is named after him. Inari also said he saved Konoha from the Atuski… the Akatsu… the… well some gang of super ninjas and… Kami! He is sooo handsome!" she squealed.

Realizing that this was just innocent idol admiration Hinata said "Well, I am sorry. He didn't come this time."

Disappointment fell across the young girls face as she heard the news and she said "Darn, and I wanted to give him my letter."

Then suddenly an idea crossed her mind as she said "Hey, you guys know him! Can you please give this to him? Please?!!"

Hinata seemed taken aback by the request as she saw that the envelope was made from quality paper with little hearts on the outside.

Seeing Hinata's hesitation Kiba took the letter and said "Sure, we'll see that he gets it"

The young girl bowed and said "Thank you" and as she left Kiba could hear her talking to herself saying "He will read my letter. Then he will fall in love with me. Then we will get married and have lots of babies and…."

Taking the letter Kiba waved it at Hinata so that she could smell the perfume he had already detected on the envelope and said "Looks like you have some competition."

Hinata ignored Kiba's taunt, it wasn't that young girl she was thinking about. Hinata was wondering how many older girls and young women were actually interested in Naruto-kun and could she even compete with them.

Kiba, seeing the look on Hinata's face, said "Hinata, I was joking. You don't actually think…"

Hinata interrupted Kiba by saying "Oh no, of course not, Kiba-kun. I was thinking of something else. Let just get these prisoners to the police and then we can get something to eat, okay?"

Kiba could tell that Hinata was bothered by something but he decided to let it drop for now and replied "Sure, let's go."

Hinata's fears were realized sooner than she had hoped. They located the police building just as they were directed and soon the responsibility for the prisoners was taken by the local law enforcement. The head of the police department had informed them that the City Council wanted them to take some documents back to Konoha. Since this mission had ended quickly Hinata and Kiba had agreed and decided to stay the night and return to Konoha the next day.

It was while leaving the police building that a young woman who appeared to be in her early twenties approached them and asked "Excuse me, my name is Akiyama Akina. May I know your names?"

Kiba stepped forward and replied "This is Hyuuga Hinata and my name is Inuzuka Kiba. How may I help you?"

Feeling a little embarrassed Akina said "I was wondering if you could do me a favor? I have a correspondence for a person in Konoha and I was wondering; could you please deliver it?"

Trying to act like a gentleman and hoping he could impress the young woman Kiba replied "Sure I will. It will be my pleasure."

Akina smiled and said "Thank you, I am not sure of the address but the name is on the envelope."

Grinning Kiba took the envelope and said "I am staying in town for the day. Maybe you would like to join us for lunch?"

Akina smiled and answered "Thank you, but I can't as I have to get back to work" and then she bowed and walked away.

Kiba watched Akina as she walked away and then looked at the name on the envelope.

"Not another one" he groaned as he discovered that the letter was addressed to Uzumaki Naruto.

Realizing that he had said that out loud Kiba quickly looked at Hinata who had her head tilted down while clasping her hands together in front of her.

Kiba immediately said "Hinata, I didn't…" but Hinata cut him off by turning towards the door and saying "Let's go, Kiba".

Kiba followed Hinata out of the building where they joined Akamaru and then all three went looking for a place to eat. After they had walked down a few streets they spotted a small restaurant with outside seating which was perfect for Akamaru.

However just before they sat down to eat another young girl came up to them carrying a letter, she gave a quick bow and said "Excuse me, my name is Hashimoto Keiko and I was wondering…"

At this Kiba growled and said "Look here, we aren't…" but again he was cut off by Hinata who said "Yes, we will deliver your letter."

At first Keiko was frightened by Kiba's response but when Hinata agreed she relaxed and handed Hinata her letter. Then Keiko bowed saying "Thank you", turned and left leaving Kiba staring at Hinata in disbelief.

Finally Kiba said "Hinata, why did you accept that letter?"

Hinata moved to sit down and replied "These are correspondences for Naruto-kun and he deserves to get them."

"Hinata, you know those are love letters; why are you doing this?" Kiba asked.

Hinata said nothing as she sat there. Kiba knew that, when Hinata acted like that, the only one she would open up to was Kurenai-sensei and since Sensei wasn't around he just sat down in frustration and waited for the waiter. All through the rest of the day Hinata accepted love letters for Naruto and by the time Hinata and Kiba retired to their separate room in the hotel she had over a dozen letters. The next day by the time Hinata and Kiba had received the documents from the City Council and had reached the bridge there were twenty letters for Naruto in Hinata's possession.

After receiving the last letter from a late arrival Kiba stared at Hinata and said "Hinata, why are you doing this?"

Hinata replied "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I destroyed these letters, Kiba-kun?"

"A smart one!" Kiba replied.

Hinata said "Kiba-kun, I want Naruto-kun to trust me, to know that he doesn't have to hide anything from me and that I won't hide anything from him."

Kiba sarcastically retorted "Yeah riiight."

Then he added "That is without a doubt the dumbest idea I have ever heard. Look Hinata, I say this as a friend and as a teammate; get rid of those letters. They are nothing but trouble. You already have what you want, the baka like you and you like the baka, though I don't know why? Showing him those letters are just inviting complications into your relationship."

Hinata didn't answer Kiba; she just turned and started walking towards Konoha.

Growling in frustration Kiba said "Come on, Akamaru, let's get going" and then they joined Hinata in silence and headed back to Konoha.

In truth Hinata figured that this was probably the worst idea she had ever had because even she wasn't sure what the outcome would be. However Hinata realized that Naruto had never had anyone ever tell him that they loved him or even liked him before her. How would he even know that she was right for him if he had never had a chance to choose another girlfriend? Hinata had liked Naruto as long as she could remember and that liking had turned into love over time but even she had received requests from suitors since she was sixteen. She had turned them all down because of her love for Naruto but also because many of them were no more than political alliances. She decided that Naruto deserved the same options she had been given and if it turned out for the worse then she would survive somehow.

After a while they decided to pick up the pace so Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru took to the trees and arrived at the Main Gates of Konoha a few hours later. As they passed through the gate and passed the guard booth just inside the entrance Hinata heard Naruto's voice call her name.

"Hey Hinata, I am glad I saw you before I left" he said while closing the distance between them.

When Naruto stopped in front of Hinata she asked "Leaving, Naruto-kun? Are you going somewhere?"

Naruto looked at Kiba and said "Hey Kiba" and when Akamaru barked Naruto acknowledged him saying "Sorry, Akamaru, I didn't mean to overlook you."

Turning back to Hinata Naruto replied "Yeah, sorry we can't get together tonight but I got an urgent mission from Tsunade just a half an hour ago. I shouldn't be gone more than three days so maybe when I get back we can go on a picnic together?"

Hinata replied "That would be nice, Naruto-kun".

Knowing he couldn't kiss her in public Naruto took Hinata's hand and squeezing it lightly said "Good, then I will see you later. I'll try to get back as soon as I can, okay?"

Hinata lightly squeezed Naruto's hand and said "I'll be waiting."

Naruto gave Hinata a longing look and then turned to leave. Suddenly Hinata called "Naruto-kun?" and when he turned to look at her she took the backpack off her shoulder and placed it on the ground.

When Naruto came closer he asked "What is it, Hinata? What's the matter?"

Hinata hesitated for a second and then said "Please be careful".

Naruto grinned and said "Aren't I always."

Hinata gave him a soft smile and said "No".

Still grinning Naruto replied "I'll be careful" and then turned and ran away.

Kiba moved closer to Hinata and said "Good, you made the right decision. Now get rid of those letters."

Keeping her eyes on Naruto's retreating back she replied "I didn't change my mind. I just didn't want him to be distracted while on his mission. I will give him the letters when he returns".

Kiba said "I still think it's a stupid idea. Well, let's get going and report to Tsunade-sama."

With that said all three started walking towards the Hokage tower while Hinata prayed that Kiba wasn't correct.

The next day found Hinata still worried about her decision to give Naruto the letters. Kiba was a good friend and all but he was a boy and she felt she needed the advice of a female. She could talk to all her friends but being the same age as her their experiences with boys were probably an only little better than hers. She needed to talk to a woman. She couldn't talk to any female member of her family because even though she didn't conceal the fact that she would hang out with Naruto-kun she also didn't advertise it for fear that it might cause problems. The only person Hinata could talk to was Yuuhi Kurenai, her sensei, and so after her morning training session and Hyuuga Clan lessons, Hinata left the estates for Kurenai's apartment.

She hadn't had a chance to inform Kurenai-sensei that she was coming for a visit so Hinata hoped she didn't catch Sensei at a bad time. As Hinata approached Kurenai's building she spotted her Sensei leaving with Asumakuzu strapped to her back.

When Kurenai spotted Hinata she walked towards the girl and said "Hinata, it's good to see you. How are you feeling today?"

Hinata gave a quick bow and answered "I'm feeling fine, Sensei. How are you and Asumakuzu doing?"

Kurenai replied "I'm good however this little imp got into the rice and spilled it all over the kitchen floor. I was just going to the store to pick up some more plus a few other items."

Hinata looked down for a second and then said "Um. Do you mind if I accompany you?"

Kurenai, who knew Hinata very well, recognized that Hinata was bothered by something and needed to talk so she replied "Sure Hinata, I would love the company. It would be nice to here actual words instead of baby babbling for once."

Hinata giggled at this and then placed her hand on Asumakuzu face in a caressing motion before returning her attention to Kurenai.

Hinata said "He's getting bigger every day and he starting to look more like Asuma-sensei."

"Yes, I know" Kurenai said a little wistfully but then added "But enough about that, we have a lot of girl talk to catch up on so let's get going."

Kurenai knew that Hinata would eventually get around to the real reason why she was visiting so Kurenai wasn't going to confront her. Their little shopping trip didn't end at the grocery store. After arranging for the groceries to be delivered, they decided to visit a few clothing shops and a toy store where they pick up a new stuffed animal for the Asumakuzu. It was when they sat down at an open air sweet shop that Hinata finally broached the subject. They had just finished ordering some tea and cakes for Kurenai and Hinata and Kurenai had just secured her onbuhimo, with Asumakuzu still inside eating a baby biscuit, on the third chair.

After the waitress left Hinata said "Sensei, I need some advice."

"Ahh," Kurenai thought "now she ready" and then said to Hinata "Regarding what?"

At this point Hinata related what had occurred in the Land of Waves and finished her story by saying "Kiba thinks it's a stupid idea."

The waitress had returned with their order at that moment and after she left Kurenai said "Well, I wouldn't have put it so crude but I agree with him. Hinata, relationships are hard enough to maintain without added complications. Why are you inviting trouble?"

Hinata just looked down at her tea for a while and then softly said "I want to be with Naruto-kun and I want him to want to be with me but I want Naruto-kun to want me because he likes me not because I'm his only chance at love."

Kurenai replied "Hinata, people get into relationships for many reasons and 'being in love' is only one of the reasons. Some get into relationships for political reasons hoping their partner will provide a stepping stone to greater power. Some enter relationships for social reasons again hoping their partner will provide a stepping stone to more money, greater social standings or greater perceived popularity."

"Some do it to hurt a former lover or their parents who didn't approve of a previous relationship. There are some who enter relationships because they perceive that all their friends are in relationships and they don't want to feel left out. And, yes, some people enter relationship because they believe no one else will have them" she added.

"Personally I don't believe Naruto is one of those people but, considering the type of life he has lived, the possibility does exist" Kurenai finished.

After taking a sip of her tea Kurenai said "Hinata, in relationships there are no easy answers because everybody is different. This plan of yours is very risky. Are you prepared if it doesn't go the way you had hoped?"

Hinata sighed and answered "Yes I have thought about that a lot and I am willing to let him go if he chooses to break up with me."

"Then all I can say is go with what your heart says" Kurenai replied.

Hinata sighed again and kept looking at her half finished cup of tea so Kurenai said "Well, I better get this little man home as it is time for his nap."

Hinata and Kurenai rose from their chairs and after placing the onbuhimo on her back Kurenai and Hinata headed back to the apartment building.

Hinata was quiet during the trip back and when they reached the front door Kurenai said "Hinata, love is unpredictable. Who knows, Naruto may even surprise you. But even if things go wrong I just want to say that I am very proud of you."

This caught Hinata off guards so she looked up at her sensei and asked "Why?"

Kurenai smiled and answered "Because you have grown into a strong young woman. The old Hinata would have just accepted things as they were but you now have the courage to take the risks necessary to have the kind of life you want."

Though she was still worried, Hinata felt a little better and said "Thank you, Sensei" and then gave Kurenai a hug.

After they broke apart Kurenai said "Let me know how things turn out, okay?"

Hinata replied "Yes, Sensei" and gave a small wave, then she turned and walked back to the estates.

The day of the picnic found Naruto holding a large blanket while waiting outside the Hyuuga estates' wall near the main gate. He had returned the day before and had bumped into Hinata on the street after making his report to the Hokage. Because he was tired, dirty and smelled of dry blood they had a quick conversation regarding what time he should arrive at her home to pick her up. He had only been there ten minutes when Hinata emerge from the opening in the huge walls caused by the main gate. She was wearing her usual black pants with a sleeveless gray t-shirt. Over the t-shirt she wore a gray light wind breaker similar to her old hoodie however the fur lining of the hood was replaced with an orange trim which flowed into her front zipper which was also orange. Naruto had brought this as a souvenir for her from one of his missions. In her hand was the picnic basket which Naruto grabbed when he ran to meet her.

"Ready to go, Hinata? I thought that we would go down to the river this time" Naruto said eagerly.

Hinata smiled while saying "Yes, Naruto-kun, that would be nice" however inside she was anxious because she didn't know what Naruto would do when she gave him the love letters.

It took them half an hour to run down to the river outside Konoha's wall being careful not to disturb the food in the picnic basket. When they reached the river Naruto and Hinata walked along the riverbank until they found a clearing large enough to suit their needs. Naruto spread the blanket out upon the ground and then laid down on his side looking at Hinata. Hinata knelt down, then sat on her haunches and started to unpack the picnic basket. She took out Yakitori, (grilled seasoned chicken on a skewer) and Oden (daikon radish, hanpen {square fish cakes}, chikuwa {tubular fish cakes}, boiled eggs, konnyaku {yam cake}), that had been prepared before in a hot pot. She also had Inarizushi (sushi rice is packed in seasoned fried tofu pouches) and onigiri is filled with pickled Ume (fruit) or salted salmon that she had made herself. And last but not least ramen in a bowl with a flask of hot miso broth to accompany it. Hinata placed half of the ramen in another bowl and poured the broth over it then set it aside. While the ramen seeped she unwrapped all the other food and set then out for easy access. When she was finished she handed Naruto, who had sat up in anticipation, the bowl of hot ramen.

As Naruto started to devour his ramen Hinata sat there debating with herself about the letters. Finally Hinata softly said "Naruto-kun…"

When Naruto didn't hear anything else he looked up and said "Huh?"

Hinata couldn't find the words to tell him so she just reached into the basket and pulled out the letters extending them with both hands towards him. The letters were stacked in order of size with largest on the bottom and tied with a simple brown string.

Naruto looked at the letters in Hinata's hands and asked "What's that?"

Hinata replied in a low voice "These are letters from people in the Land of Waves for you."

Naruto perked up and said "OH!" while taking the bundled. Then Hinata added "From girls" in an equally quiet voice.

Naruto said "Oh", dropped them on the blanket and continued eating.

Confused Hinata quietly asked "Are you going to read them later?"

Naruto finished eating the ramen and replied "Nope" and then picked up an onigiri and resume eating.

Surprised Hinata said "Naruto-kun, they might be important!"

Naruto put his unfinished onigiri down, picked up the letters and casually flung them into the river. Then he looked directly into Hinata's eyes and said "No, they are not."

Seeing the questioning look in Hinata's eyes Naruto's continued "Hinata, I have seen the look on your face whenever another girl looked at me. I can't control what they do but I know that I will never do anything that will make you doubt me. I have told you before, you give me the feeling of being home, that here is where I belong, whenever I'm around you and I won't risk losing that feeling to see if there is someone else out there."

Hinata's eyes softened, glistening with unshed tears, as she smiled.

Then Naruto said "Hinata, you know how you once called me a proud failure because whenever I failed at something I would practice again and again until I got it right?"

Hinata replied "Yes" even though she wondered what that had to do with what they were talking about.

Then Naruto said "Well, I still don't think I got this kissing thing figured out so…"

Hinata faced was suddenly flushed as she realized what he wanted so she closed her eyes and leaned closer to Naruto who was slowly closing the distance.

Suddenly they heard a voice saying "Well, well, well, if it isn't a Konoha Nin and his blind girlfriend."

Naruto leapt to his feet and instinctively place his body between the voice and Hinata's

As Hinata rose from the ground Naruto yelled out "Who are you? Why don't you show yourself?"

After a few moments a man emerged from behind a clump of bushes along the edge of the river. He was a thin man with white hair and as he smiled at Naruto and Hinata they could see that his teeth were pointy like a shark. Upon the man's shoulder was a large item that appeared to be a sword wrapped in bandages.

When the man stopped about twenty yards away from Naruto and Hinata, Naruto said "Alright, who are you and what do you want?"

The man smiled and replied "That's very rude to ask someone their name without identifying yourself."

Something about the strange man told Naruto he couldn't care less about someone manners but Naruto replied "My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Hearing his name Suigetsu thought "Naruto? That the guy Sasuke would sometimes talk about, the one who Madara said defeated Pein. This fight has become real interesting."

Grinning ear to ear Suigetsu said "Ah, that's much better. My name is Suigetsu. I want some information and if you give me the right answers I may decide not to kill you."

"Now where can I find Uchiha Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked.

As Naruto stared at Suigetsu, something about him and the way he was holding the sword in that position seemed familiar yet wrong. It was almost as if the sword was right but the man was wrong.

Naruto replied "Why do you want to know?"

Suigetsu replied "Oh sorry, wrong answer. Now I will have to kill you but if you answer the question right this time I will make it quick otherwise it will be slow and painful. Now where is Uchiha Sasuke?"

At this point Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned Suigetsu. What she saw stunned her and so she leaned closer to Naruto and quietly said "Be careful, Naruto-kun. He's has a lot of chakra and that sword is not normal. It has its own chakra system. It's almost as if the sword is alive."

Seeing Hinata activate her bloodlimit Suigetsu said "Oh, I see. You're not blind, you're a Hyuuga. I know some people who would pay a lot of money to get their hands on those eyes of yours".

This comment caused Hinata to involuntarily shiver as it brought back memories of being kidnapped as a child for the exact same purpose.

Feeling Hinata's body shiver through his back Naruto yelled "Bastard, you lay one hand on her and I will kick your ass!"

Shifting Samehada on his shoulder, Suigetsu replied "If you think you can stop me, go ahead and try."

Not wanting to attack without knowing what he was up against Naruto created three clones and sent them to attack. Suigetsu pulled Samehada from his shoulder and swung laterally taking out the middle clone while the second clone leapt over the sword and the third went beneath it. Suddenly, before the remaining clones reached Suigetsu, they puffed out of existence leaving small smoke clouds as evidence that they even existed. The memories that returned to Naruto surprised him as the middle clone recalled being hit but the other two hadn't felt a thing. Suigetsu smiled as he replaced Samehada back on his shoulder and just looked at them. Then Naruto created six clones and instructed them to surround Suigetsu before attacking. Suigetsu just stood smiling as the clones surrounded him and then attacked. Again he just swung Samehada taking out two while the other four dodged and again the remaining clones suddenly vanished leaving the characteristic smoke cloud in the wake.

Suigetsu grinned and said "What's the matter? Is something wrong with your clones?"

Naruto glared at Suigetsu then, leaning over and whispering something to Hinata, Naruto created six more clones. Once more the clones surrounded Suigetsu first, then attacked and once more Suigetsu swung the sword laterally taking out two clones. All the remaining clones disappeared save one which suddenly change into Hinata. Hinata had used Henge to change into one of the clones while Naruto had created a clone of Hinata to stand by his side. Having ducked under the sword Hinata was now face to face with Suigetsu so she attacked his chest using her family's taijutsu, The Gentle Fist, pumping chakra into his body. However none of her blows were having any effect and Hinata realized she couldn't see his tenketsus anymore. Having recovered from the subterfuge Suigetsu backhanded Hinata away from him causing her to fly towards Naruto who immediately caught her.

Naruto said "Hinata! Are you all right?!" as he placed her feet on the ground and checked her over while the Hinata clone disappeared.

Standing unsteadily Hinata answered "Yes, Naruto-kun, I'm fine just dazed."

Naruto asked "What happened? What went wrong?"

Hinata shook her head slowly and replied "I… don't… know. As I was starting my kata suddenly I couldn't see his tenketsus and as I struck him I could tell that my chakra wasn't flowing."

Feigning concern, Suigetsu called out "Oh, I hope I haven't hurt her too bad, she worth more to me alive then dead. I mean I gotta have my fun with her before I turn her over to my friends."

This comment enraged Naruto and stepping away from Hinata he took out two kunais, covering both with wind chakra in order to increase their sharpness, and flung them at Suigetsu. However Naruto was shocked when both blades simply hit Samehada and fell harmlessly to the ground when Suigetsu use the sword to block the attack.

"That shouldn't have happened! Those kunais should have put a hole through that sword!" thought Naruto.

The laughter coming from Suigetsu made Naruto and Hinata look towards him but soon he stopped laughing and said "What's the matter? You can't figure out why your ninjutsu won't work?"

Then Suigetsu removed the bandages from his sword revealing that the blade was covered in what looked like white fish scales in the shape of kunai blades.

"This is Samehada which once belonged to one of the Seven Deadly Swordsmen of the Mist and now belongs to me" Suigetsu said with pride.

"The reason your ninjutsu won't work is because Samehada eats chakra" he finished.

Now Naruto knew why that sword looked familiar, it had once belonged to Hoshigaki Kisame, Uchiha Itachi's dead partner. Naruto had only seen that sword once when Itachi and Kisame had tried to kidnapped Naruto when he was twelve but were thwarted by the Sannin Jiraiya.

This fight wasn't going the way Naruto wanted. He needed time to think so he created a large number of clones, half of them looking like Hinata. Suigetsu smiled because now he had a fight on his hand. This would give him a chance to use offensive and well as defensive moves with Samehada in order to get a true feel for wielding her. Suigetsu dove into the crowd swing and slashing about but not without thought. He knew that even if Samehada could eat the chakra of the clones and thereby disperse them the real Naruto and Hinata could still slip by and stab him with their kunais. So being careful to block as well as slash, Suigetsu torn into the mass of bodies dispelling clones and unwittingly creating a cloud of smoke. During the melee and resulting fog of smoke, Naruto and Hinata slipped into the bushes to ponder their next move.

Naruto had a plan but first he needed to disable that sword and in order to pull that off it was necessary to be in Sage Mode. However he needed five minutes of stillness to achieve that state so he created two Kage Bushins and told them to gather Natural Chakra. Then he signaled for Hinata to join him. When she reached his position in the bushes he told her what he had done and that they needed to keep Suigetsu occupied for at least five minutes. Hinata nodded and then she and Naruto moved out into the open to engage Suigetsu again.

"Ah, there you are" said Suigetsu, "I didn't think you would run away."

Hinata and Naruto moved apart so that Suigetsu was between them and then started tandem attacks with Hinata, a kunai in each hand, using her natural flexibility to avoid being hit by Samehada. Naruto also had a kunai in each hand as he continued using his taijutsu to attack Suigetsu mixing in a few moves he had learned while brawling in the streets of Konoha when he was little. Suigetsu for the most part was just playing with them because this gave him an excellent chance to practice using Samehada in a real battle.

When the clones were ready Naruto signaled for Hinata to pull back and then he said "Okay bastard, you think you're so tough with that big sword? Well, let see if you can handle this?"

At that moment Naruto released one of the clones and all the Natural Chakra it had gathered flowed into him changing him into Sage Mode. Then Naruto charged straight at Suigetsu.

Suigetsu just smiled and said "If you want to die so quickly then come on" as he swung the sword in sideways batting motion.

When Naruto got close he put up his right arm to block Samehada using the effects of Sage Mode to prevent his skin from being cut.

Suigetsu said "Not bad, that technique let you block Samehada but you won't be able to do that after Samehada eats your chakra."

Suigetsu was right but that is exactly what Naruto was hoping would happened. He had used this same trick on Preta Path Pein causing him to turn to stone when Preta Path Pein absorbed the Natural Chakra from Naruto's body. When Naruto could feel the last of the Natural Chakra leaving his body he pushed away and leapt back toward Hinata. Pulling away from Samehada had caused the sword's scales to shred the jacket and the skin on his arm but that didn't matter with his healing abilities.

As Naruto stood next Hinata to watch the results Samehada started to make a clicking sound to which Suigetsu said "Huh, oh really?"

Then Suigetsu plucked one of Samehada's scales off and looked at it. Suigetsu looked back at Naruto and said "It seems your little trick didn't work. Samehada said your chakra tasted funny so she stored it in one of her scales and that scale turned to stone."

"Here check it out for yourself" he said and then Suigetsu threw the scale at Naruto as if it were a kunai.

Naruto just parried the scales using his own kunai and then intensely stared at Suigetsu.

When Hinata came up behind Naruto, he spoke softly saying "Hinata, I have got to separate him from that sword. I have an idea but I don't know what the results will be, so when I tell you I want you to run towards Konoha as fast as you can."

Hinata was surprised at what she heard. There was no way she was going to leave Naruto-kun alone to fight this man and she replied "No, Naruto-kun, I will not let you fight this man by yourself. I …".

Naruto cut her off saying "Hinata, in order to beat him I will have to use the Kyuubi's power and I don't know if you will be safe if I have to go into four tail mode."

Hinata remembered the last time Naruto went into four tail mode and tried to plead with him saying "But Naruto-kun…"

Again Naruto interrupted her saying "Please Hinata, I won't be able to fight him if I have to worry about hurting you so if you love me please do as I ask."

Hinata hated that argument but she also knew that without the use of her family's taijutsu this fight was out of her league so she said "Okay Naruto-kun, I will go but I'm coming back with help."

"Good, because after I kick his ass I may need some help changing back" he replied without taking his eyes off Suigetsu.

"Are you two finished because this fight is beginning to bore me" Suigetsu said.

"I thought that the Great Uzumaki Naruto, who was strong enough to defeat Pein, was going to give me a challenge" Suigetsu taunted.

Naruto glared at Suigetsu and said "Okay bastard, if you want a fight, then I give you one!" and with that Naruto released his second clone and charged directly at Suigetsu.

Watching Naruto charging forward, Suigetsu gripped Samehada and swung the sword in an overhead motion to bring it edgewise down directly upon Naruto's head. When Naruto was close enough he caught Samehada's downward motion between the palms of his hand fully stopping it.

This surprised Suigetsu but he quickly recovered and said "You tried that trick before and it didn't work. When Samehada is finished taking your chakra I am going to rip your arms off!"

Naruto stared Suigetsu in the eyes and replied "You want my chakra? Well then here it is!"

Suddenly red chakra flared out of Naruto's body coalescing into a cloak of chakra in the shape of a fox with two tails whipping around wildly. This transformation caught Suigetsu by surprise however the tails soon started to shrink as Samehada drained the chakra away. Anticipating this Naruto forced his body to go into three tails mode and again the Kyuubi's chakra flared around him.

Samehada started making a clicking sound and then Suigetsu replied "Really? Hey, baka, all you are doing is making Samehada happy. She says you must be a jinchuuriki because she hasn't had anything this tasty since she fought the hachibi's jinchuuriki with Kisame."

Samehada didn't really use names when talking about people; she identified them by the taste of their chakra. Kisame was called the one who tasted like a shark while Suigetsu was referred to as the one who tasted like water. She referred to the hachibi as the one who tasted like an octopus and she just discovered that Naruto tasted like a fox.

Hinata felt helpless as she watched Naruto battle Suigetsu alone. No, she didn't feel helpless, she felt useless. Without the use of her family's taijutsu all she could do was watch. She started to wonder if she was the right girlfriend for Naruto, someone who couldn't help him when he needed it most. Oh sure, she knew she could battle other ninjas at Jounin level like when Rock had attacked Konoha. However the power level of the type of ninjas that were once after Naruto and the ones who would probably come after him in the future were entirely different. As she remembered how ineffective she had been against Deva Pein, the strength of the other members of the Akatsuki and even the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke, she wondered if maybe she should let him go so that he could find a more appropriate girlfriend. He needed a girlfriend who could stand beside him, fighting shoulder to shoulder with him, not someone who had to be protected. Right now Naruto-kun was in his three tails mode and she couldn't even use her Byakugan because of the damage it might cause her eyes. After this battle was over she vowed she would breakup with him so that he wouldn't be burden by her any longer.

Naruto's three tails mode lasted a little longer than the two tails mode but soon it too started to dissipate. But this time was different as Naruto noticed that the flow of chakra into Samehada had slowed down and this is exactly what Naruto was waiting for as he started to force Kyuubi's chakra into the sword. Suigetsu was laughing as he watched the red chakra cloak shrink however he started to notice that Samehada clicking sounded different. It seemed as if she was in distress.

As he listened closely he could tell she was in pain and yelled "Bastard, what the hell are you doing?"

Naruto just smiled and said "I'm just giving her what she wants, MY CHAKRA!"

Then Naruto yelled to Hinata "Hinata run! Get away now!"

With one last forlorn look at Naruto Hinata sped away towards Konoha. As soon as Naruto saw Hinata leave the area he went into four tail mode with the chakra cloak becoming blood red and opaque giving Naruto the look of a caricature of a fox that had a face with human features. Samehada gave out what Suigetsu would characterize as a scream and expanded the scales between Naruto's hands cutting into his palms and extending through to the other side in an effort to get him to let go but Naruto held tight.

Suigetsu screamed "Bastard let go! Let go!" as he tried in vain to pull the sword out of Naruto's grip but Naruto held on and poured more chakra into Samehada.

Then Suigetsu noticed that Samehada's hilt started to get warm and a red glow, not from chakra but from heat, began to encompass the whole sword starting slowly from the point of Naruto's hands. Suigetsu started to panic and began yanking on the sword trying desperately to separate Samehada from her tormentor. Samehada's body was glowing red and her hilt was hot but Suigetsu was not letting go as he had waited a long time to obtain this sword and he wasn't about to lose it for any reason. Suddenly Suigetsu heard Naruto roar, then he heard Samehada cry out in agony, next he saw a bright light and felt, more than heard, the explosion.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three - Resolve

The resulting wind caused by the explosion sent Hinata flying forward towards a large tree. It was only thanks to her ninja training that she was able to twist her body and land against the tree in a crouching position. The soles of her sandals clung to the bark with the help of her chakra. Fearing the worst had happened to Naruto she immediately sprung off the tree trunk and headed back the way she came. When she reached the area where the battle had taken place all she found was a crater about one hundred yards wide and twenty yards deep. Looking into the crater she didn't see anyone or anything so she started searching the surrounding area with her eyes. Suddenly she saw what looked like a body slumped against a tree on the edge of the crater on her right. From the looks of the dark mark on the tree it appeared as if the body had hit the tree hard and then slid down to its base. Hinata immediately raced towards the figure praying to any Kami that was listening that the body wasn't Naruto. When she reached her destination Hinata's heart nearly stopped. There before her lay her Naruto-kun, his head leaning to the right as if he was looking at the stump where his right hand used to belong but his eyes were closed. However that was nothing compared to his left side. His left shoulder and arm were torn away from his body as was his left leg. His clothes were in tatters and the left side of his face was disfigured by a massive burn.

Hinata was in shock! In her mind all she could do was repeat one word "No". She kept saying that one word over and over until it started to seep from her lips, starting low and building in volume until she realized she was screaming it out loud. Hinata fell to her knees close to him and gingerly reached out to touch his face as if this was a dream and hoping that she wouldn't feel anything when her fingers met his skin.

When her fingers felt his flesh her fear intensified and she fell against his chest crying "Naruto-kun, please don't leave me! Naruto-kun, please! I don't know what I will do without you!"

Hinata laid against Naruto's chest, gripping what was left of his jacket, and cried her heart out.

Hinata cried for what seemed like forever when she suddenly felt a fly brush against her arm. At first she ignored it but when she felt it brush against her face her anguished mind screamed out "No! I will not let you defile my Naruto-kun!"

Pulling away from Naruto's chest she searched the area for the offending insect but could not find anything. Suddenly she felt her arm being brushed again and she quickly stared at the area of her arm where she was sure she felt it had touched but there was nothing there. Then her mind started to realize there wasn't a sound to be heard in the area. The whole forest was deathly quiet. Hinata started to wonder what it was that she had felt. When she felt it again Hinata froze.

She thought "Could it be?"

Did she even dare hope? Slowly Hinata leaned against Naruto's chest and listened. She couldn't hear a thing. As she began to pull away she thought she heard something and then she felt something brush against her cheek. She quickly placed her ear against Naruto's chest again listening carefully and after what seemed like forever she finally heard a heartbeat and again felt something brush against her skin.

Hinata was ecstatic! It was faint but she was sure she heard Naruto's heart beating and the sensation she felt on her skin was his chakra pulsing.

Hinata thought "Naruto-kun's alive! He's alive!"

Hinata wanted to grab Naruto and hug him with all her might but thought better and stood up.

Hinata thought "I need to get some branches to make a litter so I can take Naruto-kun back to Konoha".

As Hinata started to search the surrounding area with her eyes to find suitable branches she noticed small wisps of red chakra coming from Naruto's body. To be specific the wisps of chakra were coming from the stump of his right hand and the damaged parts of his left side. As Hinata stared in curiosity, the wisps of chakra started getting thicker and thicker and coalescing around Naruto's wrist. Soon the stump that was Naruto's right hand began to bubble like the skin itself was boiling and what looked like five small lumps started to form. When Hinata looked at Naruto's left side the damaged sections seemed to be bubbling also and filling in the area that was once his shoulder, arm, hips and thigh. When Hinata returned her gaze to Naruto's right hand she saw what was once a stump was now a gelatinous blob with five slim extensions. Hinata couldn't believe what she was seeing, with the help of the Kyuubi, Naruto-kun was healing himself.

Suddenly Hinata heard a groan. She immediately looked at Naruto and cried "Naruto-kun?"

However she discovered that Naruto's face was still in the same position as it was when she found him. Puzzled Hinata thought that maybe she imagined hearing the groan when suddenly she heard it again only this time she realized it had come from behind her. Turning slowly she looked across the crater towards the river hoping it wasn't what she thought it was but to no avail as she slowly spied a head rising from the water. Hinata couldn't believe her eyes as she saw Suigetsu crawling out of the river and he seemed to be dragging something behind him. As Suigetsu got closer to the shore she could see the hilt of Samehada in his hand. Hinata knew that she was no match for Suigetsu and that powerful sword of his but she also knew that if she didn't do something then Naruto wouldn't stand a chance. She knew she would die if she fought him but if she could delay Suigetsu long enough then maybe Naruto will have recovered enough to escape. Since she couldn't use her Gentle Fist taijutsu because of Samehada she pulled out two kunais, one in each hand, and prepared herself for battle.

Suigetsu crawled to the river bank sore and disoriented. He had not expected anyone to willingly force chakra into Samehada. As his vision came into focus all he could see from his angle was Hinata standing a hundred yards away for him in a fighting stance. Using Samehada as a crutch he tried to stand but found himself falling forward onto the riverbank. Stunned he looked around and then focused his attention on Samehada. What he saw shocked and then angered him. In his hand was Samehada's hilt attached to about three inches of Samehada's body but the rest of the chakra eating sword was nowhere to be found.

Suigetsu couldn't believe it! He had waited all his life to get his hands on Samehada and after getting out of that prison he had spent the next three months hunting for it. He had heard in prison that Kisame had died fighting the eight tailed Bijuu's host and so when he escaped he decided to head toward the closest village in that area. When he had arrived in the village he had heard tales of a strange chakra eating sword that no one could pick up. It seemed that anyone who grabbed any part of the sword received cuts in their hand by the sword. If anyone tried to use a jutsu to handle the sword, the user's chakra would suddenly disappear and the jutsu would fail. After 'nicely' persuading a local to show him where the strange sword was located he had found it under a tree all by itself. He had uncharacteristically let the local escape and just stared at Samehada.

Now Suigetsu had done his homework and knew he couldn't just grab the sword so he had carefully moved towards it and then held out his hand as if he was giving the sword something. After a while he had moved closer and repeated the action. When he had been about one body length away from Samehada he felt the sword pulling on his chakra so he just stayed there and let the sword feed. After about fifteen minutes he had pulled his hand back and moved two body lengths away from Samehada and then he sat down. There he had sat for the next six hours until he again moved forward to one body length and reached out to the sword. Again he had felt Samehada pull on his chakra and he let Samehada feed for another fifteen minutes. He had known that Samehada had to get used to the chakra of its new owner so he had been willing to take as long as it had been necessary to gain his prize. So for the next two days he had repeated his ritual of feeding Samehada and staying by its side leaving only to replenish his food and water supplies.

At the beginning of the third day he had started talking to Samehada while it fed. The content of the conversation wasn't important as long as he had kept his voice even without any anger apparent and so he had told Samehada about his life. He had talked of things that he would have probably never told anyone else. However when he had spoke of his time as Orochimaru's prisoner, Samehada had started to emit a clicking sound that sounded like annoyance to him. He had realized that he had let his anger enter into his voice while talking about his time in captivity so he had decided to avoid that part of his life in the future.

After a month had passed he had decided it was time to pick up Samehada so he had slowly made his way closer to the sword and had gently gripped the hilt. Samehada had immediately extended the scales in its hilt which tore into his hand. Normally this would not have bothered him as he would just let his body change into water but since Samehada ate chakra this action caused him considerable pain. However he had not let go of the hilt and after a few minutes Samehada had retracted its scales. When the scales had been retracted he hadn't released the hilt nor had he tried to lift the sword, he had simply held on to it letting Samehada get used to his touch. After about an hour he had slowly lifted Samehada and when the sword didn't protest he had taken a tentative swing. Samehada had done nothing so he had taken a more aggressive swing.

Again Samehada hadn't protested so he had thrust the sword above his head and had screamed "Yes, Samehada is now mine! With this everyone will recognized me as the greatest swordsman in the world! Now to find and kill that bastard, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha Sasuke," Suigetsu said to Samehada "do you know that bastard had left me and Juugo behind in Iron Country while him and that bitch, Karin, escaped? They dumped us even after Juugo and I saved his scrawny little neck while fighting the hachibi with him. I spent a year and a half in that stinking prison just waiting for any opportunity to escape and when that one guard got a little too careless I took my chance."

"Once outside I vowed that I would hunt that asshole down and strip the flesh from his bones and you're going to help me do it, friend" he finished.

The new union hadn't been as perfect as he had hoped. He had discovered that if he hadn't fed Samehada a good chakra meal at least once a week then Samehada would start draining him of his chakra. However this had been a minor inconvenience and well worth it if it meant he was now in control of the greatest sword in the land. But now, after only a month in his possession, Samehada had been destroyed. He was going to kill them! He was going to reach into their bodies and rip their hearts out!

As Hinata saw Suigetsu fall she realized that Samehada had been destroyed and her chances of surviving had improved. However even if she could now use chakra she knew that she had to stay between Suigetsu and Naruto-kun in order to protect him and in the heat of battle being able to move can mean the difference between life and death. So the only option she had left was to use Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshou - Guardian Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand. Using Naruto's good arm she pulled him away from the tree until she had him laying flat on the ground. Next she stood over him with one foot beside each of hips and removed her jacket. Then she started to move her arms in a rotational movement in front of her body and as far as possible behind her body going faster and faster while expelling chakra from the palms of her hands. She increased her speed until her arms were a blur and a shield of chakra encompassed her and Naruto.

Suigetsu rose from the ground and stared at Hinata and then he noticed Naruto's body behind her. He could tell that the explosion seemed to have mangled Naruto's body and as he stared at Hinata it looked as if she had lost her arms in the explosion as well.

Yelling at her in anger he said "Bitch, I'm going to kill you just like I did your boyfriend."

When Hinata didn't reply and just seemed to be standing there ignoring him he let his anger swell and stated racing toward her around the rim of the crater. As he got nearer and nearer he noticed that Hinata hadn't changed her position and that made him suspicious. Coming to a stop about fifty feet away from her he stared at Hinata and finally noticed that the air was shimmering around her and Naruto. Knowing she was a Hyuuga and deciding not to take a chance he picked up a stone and threw it at her. The stone got within ten feet of Hinata and then suddenly ricocheted off to the right. Now Suigetsu understood what was going on, she was generating some kind of protection field using the chakra from her hands.

Using the river as a source of ready water Suigetsu decided to test Hinata's protection field to see just how strong her jutsu was. He figured he would start with Suiton Shurikens so using hand signs he caused a number of balls of compressed water to crash against the field but each one just exploded as they came in contact with Hinata's jutsu. Next he decided to use Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu which cause a column of spinning water to rise from the river and crash against the field but again Hinata's jutsu held. This angered Suigetsu so now he decided to use Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu which caused a dragon made from water to rise from the river and attack Hinata. The force of this attack was much stronger than the previous attack and yet the barrier did not fall.

Even though Hinata's body had not moved from her original position her Byakugan could see everything Suigetsu was doing outside her barrier. She knew that he was testing her and that she had to hold on as long as possible. Since they were near Konoha she was hoping that someone had heard the explosion and was coming to investigate. As Suigetsu's attacks increased in power she felt the strain it was causing on her body but she would not let him get near Naruto. Using her Byakugan to look at Naruto's body wasn't as bad as it had been during the attack on Konoha by the Rock ninjas as it seemed the glow was staying close to his hand and left side. It looked as if he was progressing well and she could now see his left arm and leg forming slowly through the glow of chakra. Suddenly she felt the power of Suigetsu's latest attack and it had hurt. Her barrier had held but she wasn't sure she could hold out through another attack such as that again.

The fact that Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu had failed angered Suigetsu further and he was about fully lose his temper when he noticed the pained expression on Hinata's face. As he stared closely he started to notice the beads of perspiration on her face and he smiled because he realized she wouldn't be able to last much longer.

He stood in front of her and said "Bitch, I don't even care if you know where Sasuke is or not. You won't last much longer and when I get my hands on you I am going to make you wish that you had died in that explosion like your boyfriend."

Suigetsu made the hand signs for Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu again and smiled as he saw the worry forming on Hinata's face.

Hinata was scared. She knew that she was about to die but that was not what scared her. As a Kunoichi she knew that she could die anytime she went on a mission and she had accepted that a long time ago. No, what scared her was that when her barrier fell she was sure that Naruto-kun wouldn't be able to escape after the water subsided. She was going to die and she wasn't able to protect Naruto-kun as she had hoped.

As she saw the water dragon approach she said "Goodbye, Naruto-kun. I am sorry I wasn't able to save you. Please forgive me."

As Hinata tensed her body in anticipation of the pain of the attack, the sensation that flooded her body was nothing like what she expected. Instead of pain she felt powerful as her body was suddenly flooded with new found energy. She saw rather than felt Suigetsu's jutsu hit her barrier and she was surprised it had held and what's more she hadn't felt a thing. Then she realized that something was holding her leg and looking down she saw Naruto's hand gripping her ankle even though he still seemed to be unconscious. Though fully formed his hand was not complete as she could clearly see the muscles and tendons and the hand was no longer covered in red chakra but was now covered in blue chakra. This puzzled Hinata at first then she recalled the jutsu Naruto had used on Gaara during the attack on Konoha by the Rock ninjas. Naruto-kun was feeding her his chakra! Hinata felt more powerful than she had ever felt before and she knew that if Suigetsu didn't figure out the one weakness of her jutsu she could protect Naruto-kun forever.

Suigetsu felt like a kid in a toy store as he watch the Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu crash into Hinata's barrier with the anticipation of watching the barrier crumble under the force of the attack. His glee was short-lived as he watched the water flow away leaving the barrier intact. Not only was the barrier as strong as ever but he could see the look on Hinata's face and there was not a trace of worry, only a look of pure determination. Suigetsu was shock! The barrier and the bitch behind it were still standing. He threw a third and then a fourth Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu at her and still the barrier stood. Suigetsu couldn't believe it.

"How is she doing this?" he thought.

As he stared at her he noticed that the ground inside the barrier was wet and though it wasn't a lot of water maybe he could manipulate it to cause her to lose her concentration. Suigetsu tried to force chakra into the water inside the barrier but he couldn't so he figured that maybe the barrier was blocking everything including his chakra. But he quickly ruled that out because if the barrier blocked everything then how could they breathe. Then he had an idea, he quickly created a column of water in front of the barrier and released it letting the water flow freely. The water fell to the ground splashing everywhere including inside the barrier. Suigetsu laughed. He had figured out a way to beat her.

He said "I got you, bitch. Your jutsu can block chakra and things controlled by chakra but like a net it can't block non-solids like air or water that is flowing freely." Suigetsu started making hand signs and called out Suirou no Jutsu (Water Prison Skill) but instead of a large ball of water he created a wall of water taller than the barrier which surrounded Hinata and Naruto. Then keeping one hand against the wall so that it wouldn't collapse he used his free hand to cause a column of water to rise from the river and flow over the edge of the water wall where he released it so that it flowed freely filling up the water wall and Hinata's barrier.

As the water filled the prison he shouted out "If I can't crush you then I'll drown you!"

As Hinata saw Suigetsu's actions she knew her worst fear had come to pass, he had indeed deduced the weakness of her jutsu. She knew that Naruto-kun was still in no condition to escape by himself and if she released her jutsu and attacked Suigetsu then that would leave Naruto vulnerable to harm whether accidental or intentional. As the water started to flow inside the barrier Hinata could see her chakra strings slicing through the water like a stationary stick stuck in the mud while the river flowed around it. Hinata realized that her only option was in increase the rotational speed of her arms to create a shield that even water couldn't penetrate. But was that even possible? In creating her jutsu she had attained the fastest speed she thought possible without damaging the muscles in her arms. But maybe, with the chakra Naruto was supplying her, she could increase her speed. She had no choice but to try so she concentrated and started going faster.

When she increased her speed she could see the chakra string causing the water to splash as they moved through it but she hadn't stopped it yet and the water had risen to her ankles. So she went even faster. The water was still rising and now Naruto-kun was in danger of being submerged as the water level reached his cheeks. In desperation Hinata moved her arms even faster and as she watched she started to see what seemed like a seam forming between the water inside the barrier and the water outside. As she continued watching she noticed that the water level outside was rising but the water level inside the barrier stayed the same.

"Yes, I did it!" she thought but now she had another problem.

By increasing the density of the barrier to block the flow of water she had also blocked the flow of the air they needed to breathe. So now she needed to adjust her rotational pattern to lessen the density at the top of the barrier to allow air to enter. Concentrating hard she started to change her pattern so that she skipped every other overhead pass and she knew she had it right when a gust of fresh air hit her from above.

As Suigetsu smiled while watching the water level rise he stated to notice that the level inside the barrier had stopped while the outside level continued to rise. He couldn't believe it! She was stopping the water!

"How is she doing this?" he thought.

In the beginning she hadn't shown this level of strength before and now she was unstoppable.

"Well" he thought, "She has to have an opening somewhere to let in air so if I raise the water level until the barrier is covered then she will either pass out from lack of air or collapse the barrier to escape. Either way I will have my chance to kill her."

When Hinata saw the outside water level rising she knew what it meant and in fact she had anticipated this move because it is what she would have done. She knew she had two options: the first option was to increase the size of the barrier but that would decrease the density of the shield letting the outside water inside. The other option was to change the shape of the barrier so that the top extended pass the outside water line. Keeping the rotational aspect of the jutsu intact that left only two possible shapes: a cylinder or a cone. The cylinder option was out because even though it would have allow a lot of air to enter that aspect would have made the top too difficult to defend so the only true option was the cone.

The cone had the benefit of a large base to protect Naruto-kun and her and a small area at the top for air which would be easier to defend. Now the rotational demands of a ball is much different than that of a cone and the cone shape would be easier to maintain if she could spin. However if she were to spin her body she would lose contact with Naruto-kun's hand and thus her chakra source so she had to create the cone using only her arms. So Hinata started slowly changing her pattern again in order to maintain the present density while the shape moved from a sphere to a cone.

Suigetsu started to smile as he saw the shape of the barrier begin to change. At first he thought that the barrier was starting to collapse but then he realized that it was just changing shape from the sphere to a cone. His frustration really intensified when he realized the top of the cone would be higher than the walls of his water prison. If he were in the river then he would have enough chakra to create a higher wall to ensure the barrier was covered in water. Hell, if he could move the barrier into the crater then he could release the prison walls and fill the crater with water.

Suigetsu was livid. These two had ruined his chance to be known as the greatest swordsman in the world and even though the boy was dead this little whore was preventing him from making her pay. He was going to destroy that barrier no matter what. Turning into water he melded into the water prison wall and with his chakra keeping the prison in tact he began hand signs to increase the pressure of the water. When the barrier was a sphere it was well suited to withstand an increase in outside pressure however a cone shape was more susceptible to pressure from the side.

Hinata had done it. She had successfully changed the shape of the barrier from a ball into a cone and the look on Suigetsu face when he realized what she did was priceless. But now Hinata was puzzled.

"What is he doing now?" she thought when she saw Suigetsu pass through the water walls.

Then she got her answer though she felt it as oppose to saw it. Suigetsu was trying to crush the barrier using water pressure. She wasn't sure how much pressure he could exert but with Naruto-kun's chakra flowing in her she felt she could handle anything. And then she noticed it, a dull throbbing pain. At first she though it was being cause by Suigetsu's attack but it didn't feel like the pain she ever felt before when someone attacked her barrier. No, this pain was originating in her shoulders and moving down her arms. Then she realized her mistake. Naruto-kun's chakra was giving her the power to go forever but her body wasn't used to this kind of stress. She turned her attention to Naruto to see if he had healed well enough to escape. To her horror she discovered that his condition hadn't change since she last checked.

"Why had the Kyuubi's chakra stopped healing him?" she thought.

Then it dawned upon her that Naruto-kun was diverting the Kyuubi's chakra to her instead of using it to heal. If she didn't do something quickly her arms were going to fail and then she and Naruto-kun would be helpless.

Hinata had an idea, it was risky but under the circumstances it was all she had left however first she had to locate Suigetsu. Suigetsu may have change his body into water but he had to be totally separated from the rest of the water otherwise his organs would separate and he would die. So Hinata search the water for the chakra system that had to be holding his body together, keeping him alive. Once she located him she began to search for two specific clusters of chakra in his body.

"Ahh, there they are" she thought, "Now to lure him closer."

The ache in Hinata shoulders was becoming unbearable but she ignored it was she started her plan. She slowly started to ease the barrier in front of her letting water seep in. As the water started to form a small stream into the barrier she noticed the chakra system moved closer. The water level around Naruto was starting to rise again and she hoped she would be able to execute her plan before he drowned. When Suigetsu drifted in front of Hinata he reformed his face to give her an evil smile to show her she had lost. It was at this time that Hinata forced chakra into her feet to grip the ground tightly and then she let her jutsu collapse in front of her while leaning back as far as she could. This sudden influx of water washed over her carrying Suigetsu over her body and that is when she reached up and grabbed her target. There are two places in the body where the chakra system clusters are the largest, the brain and the heart, and right now Hinata had Suigetsu's heart in the palm of her hand.

Hinata knew her plan had worked when she closed her fingers and felt a lump of fibers that felt like Udon noodle. Once she had his heart in her hand, Hinata closed her fingers and began squeezing with all her might. She heard a noise which she would best describe as a muffled scream and then she felt something pulling at her wrist but she kept squeezing. Then Hinata felt something repeatedly striking her face but the blows was ones of desperation and thus the force wasn't focused. Hinata continued squeezing with all her might until she felt the mass in her hand squish between her fingers. It was at this point that the water prison walls shuddered and then collapsed with all the water surrounding her rushing away in every direction. She soon found herself flat on the ground in the open air.

Hinata took a gulp of fresh air. She had done it. She had beat Suigetsu and save Naruto-kun.

"Naruto-kun!" she thought, "Where is he?"

In a panic she tried to sit up and then it hit her: PAIN! Hinata's arms felt as if they were on fire. Every nerve ending cried out from the top of her shoulders to the tips of her fingers. The rush of battle had blocked out how injured her arms truly were but when everything was over the full extent of the damage was evident as she discovered she couldn't move her arms. But she couldn't think of that right now because she had to find Naruto-kun so she turned her head to the right and then to the left in desperation however she couldn't see him anywhere.

Panicking she thought "Kami, did he get washed into the crater or the river by the rushing water and drown?"

Gritting her teeth she forced herself to roll to the right, the pain shooting through her as her bodyweight fell upon her right arm. Ignoring it as best she could she was about to somehow get her feet under her and check the crater when she noticed a pair of boots above her head. As she looked up she saw Naruto above her head, lying on his side, facing towards her. At first she thought he might have drowned until she noticed his chest slowly rising and falling. Smiling she let gravity rolled onto her back and, as exhaustion overtook her body, she slowly drifted into unconsciousness. She wasn't sure if it was a dream or not but as her consciousness faded she thought she heard someone yell "Hinata-sama".

Hinata awoke to find herself in one of the private rooms of the Konoha Hospital. As her eyes came into focus she spotted her sister Hanabi sitting in the chair next to her bed watching her. In spite of what some people thought Hanabi did not hate her sister. Though they weren't really close Hanabi actually liked Hinata, to the same degree that she liked all the Main family members, but she felt that Hinata was foolish to fight against Hyuuga traditions. However because of Hinata's demeanor Hanabi felt it was obvious that Hanabi would make a better Clan Leader and therefore not be placed into the Branch Family. Things had changed now since Hinata's skill had improved greatly the last couple of years and her performance two days ago had impressed their father.

What Hinata didn't know was that someone had noticed the explosion of Samehada and had come to investigate, a Hyuuga party consisting of Hiashi, Hanabi, Hyuuga Zinan and their bodyguards. Hiashi and Zinan, one of the Hyuuga Clan's top negotiator and a clan elder, had gone to the Rice Country to negotiate a trade deal for Konoha and Hiashi thought that this would be a good learning experience for Hanabi. While they were returning to Konoha the explosion had occurred and focusing their Byakugans in that direction they were able to make out a battle occurring between two fighters but were too far away to identify anyone. It wasn't until Hinata had change the shape of the chakra barrier from a sphere to a cone that Hiashi's interest was peaked. When they arrived at the opposite side of the river he discovered that the occupant of the barrier was Hinata.

Whether Zinan could tell or not was not clear because it was Hanabi that said "Father, that's Hinata in there."

Hiashi stood there keeping his eyes on the battle with his Byakugan activated, watching intensely and answered "Yes I know".

This answer caused the bodyguards to become concerned because many of them like Hinata since she never talked down to them. Hiashi's personal bodyguard said "Hiashi-sama, shouldn't we go help her?"

Without taking his eyes off the battle Hiashi said "No, let's see how she handles this".

Hiashi's bodyguard did not like this answer but he knew his place and replied "Yes, Hiashi-sama".

Hiashi was not condemning Hinata to death but was in fact curious. He had heard tales of Hinata's improvement in skills however he had never had a chance to witness it with his own eyes. Whenever he watched Hinata's practice sessions he did indeed see improvement but nothing to suggest that she was able to perform the Juuho Soushiken (Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist) as was reported during the invasion by Pein. Now he had a chance to see her fight in a real combat situation and he wasn't going to interfere.

Hanabi was born with a lot of the traits that were prized in the Hyuuga Clan and foremost among those traits was her ability to read body language. It was said that she was the best of her generation and right now she was using that ability on her father. Hiashi was known to be able to hide what he was thinking but having lived with him all her life gave Hanabi special insight to Hiashi's subtle nuances. At this moment all of Hanabi's skills were telling her that Hiashi was impressed by Hinata's fighting skills. As Hanabi turned her attention back to the battle something seemed off. In her opinion there was no way Hinata had the kind of chakra reserves to pull off this kind battle and as she watched closely she noticed that Hinata's chakra field stronger at her right leg than her heart or brain. It was then that she noticed the second body on the ground of the barrier. The second body's chakra field was low all over except for its right hand which was attached to Hinata's leg.

Looking back on this day Hanabi didn't know why she said it but at that moment she said "She has someone with her feeding her chakra."

Without taking his eyes off the battle Hiashi replied "It's not the amount of chakra one has that determines a battle but how one uses it otherwise people would not have able to capture the Bijuus."

Hanabi kept her eyes on the battle and did not reply but she knew she had failed an important test in her father's eyes.

After the battle had ended Hiashi's personal bodyguards expected an order to go help but as he awaited the command from his master Hiashi just kept staring ahead.

Hiashi had seen Hinata try to rise and search the area for the second body and wondered "Did she do all this just to protect him? Is that when she shows her true strength when fighting for someone else?"

When he heard his bodyguard asked "Hiashi-sama?" he answered "Yes, go see to their needs."

When Hanabi noticed that Hinata had awakened she said "I am glad you are well, Hinata nee-chan".

Hinata turned her head to look at her sister and replied "Thank you, Hanabi-imouto. How long have I been asleep?

Hanabi replied "Two days".

Then Hinata asked "How did I get here?"

Hanabi answered "Father and I found you in the forest battling someone and after the battle had ended he had you transported here."

"Oh" Hinata replied softly.

As she turned her face towards the ceiling Hinata thought "I was fighting for my life and all Father did was watch?"

Then Hanabi added "Father was very impressed by your fighting skills."

Again, in retrospect, Hanabi wondered why she said it, maybe she felt guilty for her earlier comment to her father. Upon hearing that Hinata's eyes widen in surprise as she turned her head to look at her sister.

Hanabi answered her look by saying "He did not say it in words but I could tell he was impressed."

Hinata's eyes softened and when she tried to sit up she discovered that her arms still did not work. Looking down at them she discovered that both her arms were bandaged from her shoulders down to and including her hands. Seeing Hinata trying to rise up Hanabi rose from her chair and helped Hinata to sit up, propping the pillows behind Hinata's back.

In answer to Hinata's unspoken question Hanabi said "Tsunade-sama said that you tore the muscles and ligaments in your shoulder and arms using that technique and your hands were covered with chakra burns. She said that with therapy you should be fine in a month."

"Thank you" replied Hinata and then she asked "Where's Father?"

Returning to her chair Hanabi replied "He had to attend a Clan meeting and said he would come by later. Neji hasn't returned from his mission yet."

Hinata said "Oh, okay"

There was a minute of complete silence as Hanabi stared at Hinata and then she asked "Is he worth it?"

Hinata looked puzzled and replied "Is who worth what?"

Hanabi replied "Uzumaki-san, is he worth all the damage you have done to your body?

First you were stabbed by Deva Pein, then you damaged your eyes fighting that rock Nin and now your arms were hurt fighting that Suigetsu character."

Hinata looked at Hanabi surprised that she would ask such a personal question but then she smiled and answered "Yes, he is."

Hanabi seemed as if she was going to ask another question when there was a knock at the door and in walked Tsunade.

Hanabi rose from her chair and bowed saying "Tsunade-sama" while Hinata just bowed from her sitting position and also said "Tsunade-sama"

Tsunade nodded at Hanabi and replied "Hanabi-san" and turning to her patient said "Ah, I glad you are awake, Hinata. I was just coming in to check on your injuries."

Hinata said "Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I am feeling much better. It doesn't hurt as much as it did when I was injured."

"Well, let me be the judge of that" Tsunade replied and then her hands started glowing with green chakra as she passed them over Hinata's arms and shoulders.

"You're lucky, you know", Tsunade said as she continued her scans, "The tears in your muscles and tendons are the same type one gets from exercising too much however yours are more extensive. Though the repairs will take a lot longer there shouldn't be any permanent damage."

As a matter of fact you may come out of this stronger" she continued as she finished her scans.

It was at that moment that Hinata asked "Tsunade-sama, how is Naruto-kun?"

Tsunade answered "Well, he had some extensive tissue damages to the skin on his left arm and leg but he should be fine in a couple of weeks."

"So his arms and legs are okay?" Hinata asked a little apprehensively.

Tsunade noticed the tone of Hinata's question and said "Yes, they should be okay. Why?"

Hinata glanced at Hanabi and then back at Tsunade.

Tsunade then said "Hanabi-san, could you please step outside?"

Hanabi wasn't stupid so she knew that there were some secrets about the battle she shouldn't hear but she also understood that a lot of mission ninjas undertook never became public knowledge.

So Hanabi rose from her chair and bowed saying "Yes, Hokage-sama" and turning to Hinata she said "I'll return with Father later, Hinata nee-chan" and left the room.

When the door was closed Tsunade performed a hand seal and then turned to Hinata and said "The room has been sealed. No one can hear us speaking."

Sitting down in the chair Hanabi had vacated Tsunade said "Now what is it you wanted to tell me?"

At that point Hinata went into a detail explanation of the beginning of the battle, what had caused the explosion, the extent of Naruto's initial injuries and his incredible healing powers. After Hinata had finished her report Tsunade considered what she had heard and then said "Wow, that beats anything I have."

Puzzled, Hinata said "Excused me, Tsunade-sama."

Realizing she spoke out loud Tsunade said "Nothing, nothing, just thinking out loud."

Then she said "You haven't told this to anyone else, have you?"

Hinata replied "No, Tsunade-sama."

"Good, consider this a state secret, okay" Tsunade said.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama" Hinata replied.

Then Tsunade rose from the chair and released the seal on the room saying "Well, I have other patients to see so I should be going."

As Tsunade turned to leave the room Hinata called out "Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade looked over her shoulder and said "Yes, what is it?"

Hinata looked down at her bandaged hands for a few moments and then looking up said "Will this information prevent Naruto-kun from becoming Hokage?"

Tsunade turned towards Hinata and saw the concern in her eyes and said "I don't see how as I am not telling anyone about it, are you?"

Tsunade could see the relief in Hinata's eyes as she smiled and replied "No, Tsunade-sama."

Once again Tsunade turned to leave when Hinata called out "Tsunade-sama" a second time.

Wearily Tsunade turned around and said "Yes, what is it?"

Hinata replied "Um, when can I see Naruto-kun?"

Tsunade replied "Not today because he's still resting but he should be ready for visitors tomorrow, okay?"

Hinata smiled and said "Yes, and thank you, Tsunade-sama".

Tsunade smiled and turned to leave praying she could make it out the door before that girl called her name again. When the door closed behind Tsunade Hinata smiled knowing that Naruto-kun would be all right.

The next day Naruto woke up in his hospital bed and, realizing where he was, groaned "Oh no, not again."

He vaguely remembered barely waking up before with Tsunade and Sakura hovering over him but he thought that it had been a dream. The last firm memory he had was fighting Suigetsu and telling Hinata to run. As he started to sit up he suddenly stopped. He didn't know why but for some reason he had to check his hands and legs to see if they were alright. Finding everything intact he continued to sit up in bed and looked around.

"Yep, Konoha hospital, fourth floor, west side" he thought tiredly as he looked at the view outside the window.

The hospital maybe new but since it was built on the same site as before the view had changed very little. While Naruto was debating whether he should get up or not there was a knock at the door.

Shizune stuck her head in and said "Naruto-kun, it's good to see you up. I was just coming to give you a checkup."

Shizune entered the room and walked over to his bed with Naruto's chart in hand.

"Hey Shizune nee-chan, how long have I been here?" he asked quickly.

Shizune replied "Three days" as she looked over the chart.

"Hinata! Is Hinata here? Is she okay?" he asked.

Shizune replied "Relax, Naruto-kun. Yes, Hinata is here and she will be okay. As a matter of fact she is right outside the door waiting to come in. I told her that if you were awake she could visit after I had finished my checkup."

Naruto didn't like the term 'will be okay' because that meant she had been hurt but since she was well enough to visit him Naruto visibly relaxed. He leaned back against the head board while Shizune's hands glowed with green chakra and she started to run her diagnostic scans.

When she was finished Shizune began writing something on his chart so Naruto asked "When can I leave?"

Shizune smiled and replied "You should be able to leave tomorrow."

Actually Shizune's scan showed that Naruto was healthy enough to leave the hospital now but she thought that if she could get him to rest another day then all the better.

Placing her pen in her pocket Shizune said "I will tell Tsunade-sama that you are awake now because I know that she will want to debrief you on the battle. Hinata can visit you until then, got it?"

Naruto grinned and replied "Thanks, Shizune nee-chan."

When Shizune opened the door to let Hinata enter Naruto saw that both of her arms were in slings which were tied around her neck. His stomach dropped because he knew that somehow he was the cause of her injury.

As Shizune closed the door behind her as she left Hinata walked towards Naruto while saying "Hello Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked down at his hands and said in a quiet voice "Hey, Hinata."

Wondering what was wrong Hinata sat down in the chair beside Naruto's bed and asked "What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto did not look up and asked "Hinata, how did you get hurt?"

Hinata was puzzled and asked "Don't you remember, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto shook his head from side to side while looking at his hands and answered "Not really, all I remember was pumping chakra into Samehada and then an explosion but nothing else."

Hinata replied "Oh" and then told Naruto what had happened after the explosion.

After Hinata was finished Naruto was quiet for a while and then said "Because of me you got hurt again."

This puzzled Hinata even more so she replied "Naruto-kun, because of you I'm alive. I would have died if you hadn't helped me."

"But you would not have been fighting ninjas like Pein or Suigetsu if you weren't with me" Naruto countered.

"Maybe you shouldn't be around me" he added quietly.

Finally Hinata understood what was going on; Naruto was trying to protect her again. Hinata was happy that he wanted to keep her safe but she was also irritated that he thought she couldn't protect herself.

Making sure to keep her voice calm she said "Naruto-kun, first of all, Suigetsu was not after you. He was after Sasuke-san."

Naruto was about to say something when Hinata interrupted "Please, Naruto-kun, let me finished."

"Suigetsu didn't come after you until you got between him and Sasuke-san" she added.

"Secondly, Pein had attacked Konoha while you were away and still destroyed it after learning you weren't even there. He did it as revenge against Konoha for killing his parents. So even if you never lived in Konoha it would have been attacked sooner or later" she said.

"Naruto-kun, I know that, with what you have inside you, you will face powerful opponents in the future that perhaps only you can handled" Hinata said.

"I understand and accept that. As a matter of fact, it is kind of nice to know that the most powerful shinobi in Konoha is my boyfriend" she added.

Naruto looked up at her at that statement.

"And I am willing to stand back while you fight these powerful enemies but I will not be sent away in order to be protected. If you are willing to risk your life to protect me then I should be willing to risk my life to protect you." she continued.

"I am a Kunoichi of Konoha but more importantly I am your girlfriend so I will willingly standby and watch your back in case something unexpected happens during your battles and in return I expect the same from you. I don't want you interfering with my battles unless something comes up that I can't handle. Okay?" she finished.

After talking to Hanabi, Hinata realized that Naruto didn't need a girlfriend to stand beside him fighting side by side; he needed a girlfriend who would watch his back, to protect him. No matter how good a fighter was, he or she always had a weakness or blind spot. The best fighters understood their blind spots and either knew how to protect them or how to use them to their advantage like Neji did. Naruto's blind spot was his willingness to expose himself to danger in order to protect others. Hinata had decided that it was her job to cover Naruto's blind spot whether in battle or in politics where Naruto was sure to find himself once he became Hokage.

A grin slowly come to Naruto's face, then he said "Deal!" and stuck his hand out in an effort to shake Hinata's hand however he felt embarrassed when Hinata looked at his hand and then down at her bandaged hands.

Realizing his mistake Naruto sheepishly said "Oops, sorry about that".

Hinata smiled a shy smile and then, with blush tinting her face, said "Uh, Naruto-kun, we can also seal the deal with a kiss."

Naruto's eyes widen slightly and he replied "Uh, yeah, that would work too, I guess."

Then Hinata closed her eyes, leaned forward and after a moment she felt Naruto's lips as he closed the distance. It was a simple kiss, no more than three seconds but to Hinata any time her lips met his was wonderful. After they separated Hinata sat down on the hospital bed next to Naruto and laid her head on his shoulder content to just be next to him. Naruto was going to place his arm around Hinata's shoulder to hold her closer but he figured that it was a bad idea so he just leaned his cheek against the top of her head and smiled knowing that he had the best girlfriend in the world.

Then Hinata said "My arms aren't as bad as they could have been. Tsunade-sama said the damage to my muscles and tendons are the same type one gets from exercising too much. She said that even though mine were more extensive it was the type of damage Guy-sensei or Lee-san might receive during their training regime".

"She even said that I maybe even stronger when I fully heal" she added.

Suddenly a vision of Hinata sporting arms like Guy-sensei entered Naruto's head and it caused him to shudder.

This made Hinata pull away from Naruto and ask "What the matter, Naruto-kun? Are you cold?"

Naruto looked at Hinata with pleading eyes and said "Hinata, please tell me you won't have arms like Guy-sensei."

Hinata giggled and returned to her place on Naruto's shoulder saying "No, Naruto-kun, it doesn't work that way. Female muscle tissues are different from male muscle tissues."

Naruto sighed in relief and said "Thank the kamis."

After a while Naruto said "Hey, Hinata, with your arms like that you won't be able to train too soon, huh?"

Keeping her eyes closed she replied "Yes, that's true, Naruto-kun."

"So, I guess you won't be able to defend against my new jutsu then" Naruto said.

Hinata's eyes shot open because she didn't like the tone of his voice as he said that. Slowly she pulled her upper body away from him and turning towards him said apprehensively "What new jutsu?"

Naruto just grinned and brought his hands up in front of him. Then forming his hands into a claw like shape he started wiggling his fingers and said "Uzumaki Naruto's Awesome Tickle no Jutsu."

Hinata slowly rose from the bed and keeping her eyes locked on his fingers said "Naruto-kun, you wouldn't."

Naruto didn't say anything as he slowly pulled away his bedcovers and placed his feet on the floor.

With her hands bandaged she couldn't leave the room so slowly backing away Hinata said "Don't you dare or I'll tell Neji nii-san."

Naruto rose from the bed then slowly began walking towards her while wiggling his fingers and replied "Cream Puff! I can take him."

Still backing up Hinata's mind raced for a larger threat and then said "I'll tell Sakura-san."

Naruto kept coming forward and said "In Sage Mode, I won't feel a thing."

Finding herself against the hospital room door Hinata said "I'll tell Tsunade-sama!"

This cause Naruto to pause and say "Well, that would hurt", but then he added "but I'll take my chances" and continued to draw nearer.

With nowhere else to go Hinata cried "Naruto-kun, DON'T YOU DARE!"

The next thing everyone on the fourth floor of the hospital heard were piercing screams of laughter. Who knew that quiet shy Hyuuga Hinata could be so loud?

A/N – It seems the trilogy has turned into an anthology. I may write more if a good idea hits me.


End file.
